Bill Hogan

In Other News . . .

Bill Hogan has been covering Washington for longer than he can remember. He is the author of three books, most recently, "Are Your Prescriptions Killing You?"”How to Prevent Dangerous Interactions, Avoid Deadly Side Effects, and Be Healthier with Fewer Drugs" (with Dr. Armon B. Neel, Jr.).

The longevity capital of the world, as you may recently have read in the AARP Bulletin, is the Nagano region of Japan, where women can expect to live an average of 87.2 years and men an average of 80.9 years. Experts chalk it up to a healthy diet, regular physical activity, extended work years and aggressive government intervention. Nagano’s counterpart in the United States? It’s Montgomery County, Md., a fast-growing bedroom community just outside of the nation’s capital. Statistics compiled …

Seventy years ago – on June 6, 1944, commonly known as D-Day – World War II took a dramatic turn with the Allied invasion of Normandy. The Allied landings – overseen by General Dwight D. Eisenhower – were conducted in two phases: an airborne assault shortly after midnight, and, beginning at 6:30 a.m., an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armored divisions along a 50-mile stretch of the French coastline. Boomers were not, of course, around for that, but growing up …

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the voluntary recall of more than 100,000 adult bed rails that it says can pose a serious risk of entrapment, strangulation and death. When attached to an adult’s bed without the use of safety retention straps, the portable bed handles – sold by Bed Handles Inc., of Blue Springs, Mo., from 1994 to 2007 – can shift out of place, creating a dangerous gap between the handle and the edge of the mattress. …

Three college roommates who bought an old couch for $20 at a Salvation Army store in New Paltz, N.Y., had the surprise of their lives when they found $40,000 in cash hidden inside. “I almost peed,” Reese Werkhoven, one of the lucky trio, told TheLittleRebellion.com, an online student newspaper at SUNY New Paltz. “The most money I’d ever found in a couch was, like, 50 cents.” As it turned out, the couch contained three cash-stuffed plastic envelopes, one of which had …

Age discrimination can be hazardous to your health, a new study by researchers at Florida State University’s College of Medicine has found. What’s more, people who see themselves as targets of age discrimination are likelier to be in poor health than victims of race or sex discrimination, according to the study. “What we found was unexpected and striking,” said the study’s lead author, Angelina Sutin, assistant professor of behavioral sciences and social medicine. >> Sign up for the AARP Health …

Authorities say an 83-year-old man has died from head injuries he sustained when an off-duty security guard went on a violent rampage at a Florida assisted living facility, savagely attacking residents with a tire jack. Joseph Giambrone had been in a coma since the March 27 attack at Atria Evergreen Woods in Spring Hill, which bills itself as a “resort-style” retirement community. Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis described the attacks on Giambrone and another resident, 88-year-old Miriam Lepp, as “beyond comprehension.” …